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President Donald Trump pardoned five former NFL players on Thursday night.
White House pardon czar Alice Mary Johnson announced the pardons in a post on social media. Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon were granted clemency.
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President Donald Trump listens during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
“As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again. So is our nation,” Johnson wrote in a post on X.
She added that Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones shared the news “personally” with Newton, who was a three-time Super Bowl winner with the Cowboys.
Klecko, a former New York Jets star and Pro Football Hall of Famer, pleaded guilty to perjury when he lied to a federal grand jury that was investigating insurance fraud.
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Dallas Cowboys guard Nate Newton (61) in action against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park on Nov. 10, 1996. (James D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports)
Newton, who was a six-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro selection, pleaded guilty to a federal drug-trafficking charge after law enforcement discovered $10,000 in his pickup truck as well as 175 pounds of marijuana in a vehicle in an accompanying car driven by another man.
Lewis, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, pleaded guilty in a drug case in which he used a cellphone to try to set up a drug deal soon after his former team selected him with the No. 5 overall pick of the 2000 draft. He was the Offensive Player of the Year in 2003.
Henry, who was a Pro Bowl running back that played for three teams in his seven-year NFL career, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic cocaine for financing a drug ring that moved between Colorado and Montana.
Oakland Raiders tight end (33) Billy Cannon catches a pass against the Green Bay Packers during Super Bowl II at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 14, 1968. (Tony Tomsic/USA TODAY NETWORK)
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Cannon, a star with the Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders, admitted to counterfeiting in the mid-1980s. He was the 1959 Heisman Trophy winner while at LSU. His pardon came posthumously as he died in 2018.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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